Wei, Xia; Yuan, Haowen; Sun, Yan; Zhang, Jiawei; Wang, Qingbo; Fu, Yaqun; Wang, Quan; Sun, Li; Yang, Li; (2022) Health Services Utilization in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from a Large-Scale Online Survey. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19 (23). p. 15892. ISSN 1661-7827 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315892
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Abstract
Timely access to essential health services is a concern as COVID-19 continues. This study aimed to investigate health services utilization during the first wave of the pandemic in China. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted using a self-administrated questionnaire in March 2020. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for data analysis. A total of 4744 respondents were included, with 52.00% reporting affected services utilization. Clinical testing (68.14%) and drug purchase (49.61%) were the most affected types. Higher education level, being married, chronic disease, frequently visiting a provincial medical institution, spending more time on pandemic-related information, perception of high-risk of infection, perception of large health impact of the pandemic, and anxiety/depression were significant predictors for reporting affected services utilization. For the 431 chronic disease respondents, 62.18% reported interruption, especially for drug purchase (58.58%). Affected health services utilization was reported during the first wave of the pandemic in China, especially for those with higher education level, chronic diseases, and COVID-19 related concerns. Enhancing primary healthcare, use of telehealth, extended prescription, and public communication were countermeasures undertaken by China during the rapid rise period. As COVID-19 progresses, the changing disease characteristics, adapted health system, along with enhanced public awareness/knowledge should be considered for the evolution of health services utilization, and further investigation is needed.
Item Type | Article |
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Faculty and Department | Faculty of Public Health and Policy > Dept of Health Services Research and Policy |
Research Centre | Covid-19 Research |
PubMed ID | 36497964 |
Elements ID | 197293 |
Official URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315892 |
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